New Zealand shares ended higher on Thursday as most Asian markets showed gains after the US Federal Reserve delivered its first rate hike in more than three years.

The S&P/NZX 50 rose 0.98% or 133.87 points to close at 13,756.59.

Overnight, the S&P 500 fell 0.5%, the Dow Jones lost 1.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite was little changed.

The US Federal Reserve raised its benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points in a unanimous vote on Wednesday to combat sticky inflation, while signaling that another hike may come later in the year.

In domestic news, New Zealand's economy expanded 0.2% in the June quarter, following a 0.9% expansion in the previous quarter, Stats NZ data showed.

Also, New Zealand job ads rose 0.6% month on month in August and are 9.7% higher year on year, with applications per job ad rising 0.9% month on month despite the increase in available opportunities, according to a report by Seek.

In corporate news, Santana Minerals (ASX:SMI, NZE:SMI) is set to be included in the VanEck Junior Gold Miners ETF, effective at the close of trading on Friday, as part of VanEck's semi-annual index review and rebalance.

The Bankers Investment Trust's (NZE:BIT) unaudited net asset value was 1.584 pounds sterling per share as of Tuesday.